A little over 12,000 BMW vehicles sold in the country need to have their airbags replaced, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on Tuesday.
In an advisory, the DTI said that the local BMW distributor, SMC Asia Car Distributors Corp. had informed it of a “technical campaign for the replacement of the Takata airbags in select BMW vehicles.”
“The driver’s airbag gas generator could malfunction due to long - term exposure to high humidity or temperature fluctuations,” the DTI said in an advisory.
A total of 12,009 units, built from 2019 onwards, are covered. The affected vehicles include sedans, hatchbacks, SUVs and high-performance models covered by 45 model codes, among them X and M Series variants.
“Affected vehicle owners will be contacted through official letters, SMS, messaging apps or email and are advised to schedule an appointment with an authorized BMW workshop for the necessary repairs”, the DTI said.
“BMW will replace the airbags free of charge.”
SMC Asia, which is under San Miguel Corp, was appointed by the BMW Group as importer, distributor, and service provider of BMW automobiles in the Philippines in 2017.
A day earlier, the DTI also announced that SMC Asia would be replacing the starter motors of 2,196 BMW models, which in some cases could have difficulty working and lead to overheating.
Again, affected owners will be notified and the entire starter motor assembly will be replaced free of charge. THE MANILA TIMES